I started thinking about doppelgängers the other day when one of my fave blogs, I Still Want More Puppies, posted a link to the "2013 Oscar Nominees and their Animal Doppelgängers". You should really check that link out (I think my fave is Tommy Lee Jones = Grumpy Cat, but there are other funny ones as well.)
Anyway, it reminded me of two things:
1) I once noticed that my friend's angel dog, Max, had a puppy pic that looked exactly like Ron Swanson (a hysterically gruff character on Parks and Rec, played by Nick Offerman). Am I right? Since Ron really likes meat, and Max did too, they were even somewhat of a personality match.
2) There is a web site that lets you find your doggy doppelgänger, appropriately called: Doggelganger. It's from Pedigree and the New Zealand SPCA. The tag line is: "Human to canine pairing software. Your best friend search starts here."
It's fun to play with. You're supposed to be able to add your own image either with your web cam or by loading a picture, but I couldn't get the web came image thing to work. So, I loaded a photo. (They say to load one with a neutral image - but, other than Ron Swanson above, most people smile when you point a camera at them.) Anyway, first I loaded my b&w "author photo" and I got a 62% accuracy match with this adorable 7 mo. old female Mastiff/Greyhound mix.
I also tried a color photo - but I guess I look a lot older in this picture since I got a 67% accuracy match with this sweet 12-yr-old Fox Terrier mix: (at least she's a fox....)
I do have the same worry wrinkles as both of these girls, so I think they did a pretty good job. It's a fun thing to play with - so hopefully the NZ SPCA is getting a lot of local folks on the site who then find their new best look alike friend!
I also looked up doppelgänger for this post - I thought it just meant "a look alike", but the actual definition from Miriam Webster is "a ghostly counterpart of a living person". Ghostly... hmm. So Tommy Lee Jones = ghostly Grumpy Cat I guess.
Anyway, go have some fun and find your doggelganger.
